Pollard is the author of "The Owl Theory" a theory that Kathleen Peterson died from injuries sustained in an owl attack. In 2019, he toldDr. Philthat Elizabeth fell down the stairs after suffering a stroke. The writer produced a memoir in 2009 called Behind the Staircase, and a sequel Beyond the Staircase. Colin Firth plays Michael Peterson in the latest retelling of Kathleen Petersons murder and Michaels attempts to prove his innocence. Scroll on to find out. The pair moved in together in 2019. Her stepfather's lies, including about his sexuality, also played a role, as depicted in the HBO Max miniseries, The Staircase. By taking the plea, he admitted that the prosecution had enough evidence to secure a manslaughter conviction. Since the release of the docuseries three final episodes, he has directed two fictional series in France. The case is still a major discussion for true-crime fans, some of whom wonder if Michael Peterson really did kill his wife, or if it was merely an accident as he claims. Following an investigation and an ensuing murder trial, the latter of which became one of the longest of its kind in North Carolina history, Michael Peterson was eventually found guilty. Above (L-R): The real Todd Peterson, Martha Ratliff, Margaret (Ratliff) Blakemore, and Clayton Peterson. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Petersons wood-paneled office (which Aphrodite Jones describes as an imposing, ominous and intimidating space, saying It was understood that Michael Peterson didnt want people in there.) had a prominent role in the film and in a macabre foretelling was the site of a very bloody murder scene. Colin Firth plays the writer in a new HBO Max limited series. Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her home in similar circumstances to Kathleen Peterson. Patricia Peterson died in July 2021 of a heart attack when she was 78 years old. Even after his prison release, Peterson has maintained his innocence and lives in Durham, North Carolina. And although his initial murder trial took place in 2003, Michael Peterson's saga didn't have definitive ending until 2018. ", It turns out Firth landed the role out of pure Hollywood happenstance. Then there was Kathleens $725,000 life insurance policy (which doubled to $1.4 million in the case of accidental death) of which Michael was the beneficiary (not to mention the almost $400,000 in deferred compensation benefits he was owed from Nortel upon her passing). In 2002, his film Murder on a Sunday Morning, about the wrongful accusation of a Black teenager for the murder of a tourist in Jacksonville, Florida, took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Since Deavers testimony was what eventually led the jury to agree upon Michaels guilt, the writer was released in 2011 under a $300,000 bail and placed under house arrest. Michael was resentenced to 86 weeks in prison but was let free since he had already served more than that time. Her partnership with de Lestrade is still going strong, with Brunet having edited his two TV series after The Staircase, true crime drama Latitia, and the political thriller Jeux dInfluence. Alex Murdaugh trial live stream, updates: Sentencing set for double murder charge. (Romper reached out to Michael Peterson's representatives and Netflix for additional statements. "We originally had been to Harrison Ford," the HBO show's creator Antonio Campos told Entertainment Weekly. Michael and Kathleen led an extravagant lifestyle and were, by all accounts, happy. They took care of each other.". Michael suggested that Kathleen fell down the stairs after drinking too much alcohol and Valium, but no fingerprints were detected on the wine bottle or glasses out in the kitchen. Margaret was already interested in pursuing a career in film when her family was approached by Lestrade and his crew. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. "They took care of each other." Wanted folks like you to see what we, criminal defense lawyers, actually do. Her death was investigated by the U.S. military police in Germany at the time and an autopsy concluded she had died from an intracerebral hemorrhage. His guilty plea notwithstanding, Michael still asserts that he did not kill Kathleen Peterson. The staircase where Kathleen Peterson was found dead on Dec. 8, 2001 is seen above Credit: Netflix. What happened to Olivia Walton on The Waltons? His plans, he said, are to spend the time he lost behind bars with family and write a new book. Kathleen was apparently bludgeoned to death after a medical examiner noticed several lacerations on her scalp. While many elements have been updated, the layout is the same, making it very recognizable from The Staircase.. Today, Michael Peterson, 78, is still alive and remains a free man. However, it might be his hopes of writing a new book that will give him a place in society once again. Since Michael cant profit from his crime, the proceeds from the books sales go to charity. Milan Polk is an Editorial Assistant for Men's Health who specializes in entertainment and lifestyle reporting, and has worked for New York Magazine's Vulture and Chicago Tribune. The listing photos show the changes that have been made since Petersons departure. Petersons overall nonchalant demeanor and regular giggling over aspects of the case are certainly perplexing. In 2017, Michael submitted an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. In 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the . Peterson sold the five-story home he lived in with Kathleen. After serving in the Vietnam War, he began to write novels and newspaper columns about his experiences following his honorable discharge in 1971. The newlyweds were captured gloriously posing for photos on the homes staircase. Despite Michael Peterson's murder conviction in 2003, his story was far from over. According to him, Michael waited three hours to call 911 while Patty was having a heart attack. As The News & Observer noted, the former columnist's Alford plea was distinctly tied to the charge of manslaughter, which means that Peterson asserted his opinion of his innocence while simultaneously accepting charges (via Metro). In a livestream that has since been uploaded to YouTube, he accuses Michael of murdering not only Kathleen, but also his mother, Patricia, and family friend Elizabeth. Lestrades documentary played an important part in the Peterson affair and served as the main inspiration for Campos show. Michael purchased the 9,372-square-foot property in August 1992 for $600,000. At least three people are not fans of HBO's "The Staircase": Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Michael Peterson, and attorney David Rudolf. "That we dont cheat or invent evidence, that we actually care about truth and representing people as well as they can be represented. But, theres one thing that pretty much everyone can agree on: The man needs to avoid a home with staircases. ", one of the longest of its kind in North Carolina history, is not synonymous with his conviction being overturned, losing the civil suit his step-daughter, Caitlin Atwater, brought against him, Michael Peterson's first wife, Patricia "Patty" Peterson, forced to sell his assets, including the family home. The real Patty (Trini Alvarado) not only stood by her ex-husbands side throughout the trials, but she also took him in after his release. Above (L-R): Tim Guinee, Sophie Turner, Colin Firth, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger appear as the Peterson family in "The Staircase" on HBO Max. After her death, however, and during Petersons time behind bars, he was forced to file for bankruptcy. Im innocent. First off, in 1985, Peterson was the last person to see yet another woman alive just before she died from head injuries from falling down a staircase. At the time, Council of Residential Specialists spokesman Jack Cotton expressed that the murder shouldnt affect the sale, telling The News & Observer, Crimes of passion dont have a huge negative impact on the value of the house. The video above will play a live feed of Alex Murdaugh's sentencing beginning at 9:30 a.m. Friday. The Staircase, starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette as Michael and Kathleen Peterson, explores the life of Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen at their sprawling North Carolina home after she died under suspicious circumstances in December 2001.. However, Rudolf is the one who finds the dramatization most egregious. Her son, Todd, has accused Michael of waiting over three hours to call 911 after realizing that Patty was feeling sick. Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Kathleens death, and spent nearly a decade behind bars. Instead of the trial actually happening, a judge reduced the novelists charges to manslaughter thanks to entering an Alford plea, which essentially states that while he doesn't admit to the crime, he does admit that the state as sufficient evidence to charge him. "I didn't know if Michael Peterson's presentation of himself was going to be helpful to me in terms of finding out what lies underneath, and I found it kept moving," Firth explained to The Wrap. Unlike Michael and Todd, he has never spoken publicly about The Staircase. In a series of emails to Variety, he accused Lestrade of pimping him and his family out Still, he admits that Lestrade's work was instrumental in getting him out of prison. Nowadays, Margaret lives in California and works in the entertainment industry as an actor, assistant director, and production manager, among other things. Lincoln Rileys wife, Caitlin Buckley: She attended Rileys rival school, first-degree murder and sent him to prison for life, Michael still asserts that he did not kill Kathleen Peterson, Isabella Russos ethnicity Her Asian roots explained, What is Ines Tazis ethnicity? Rudolf said he agreed to participate in the documentary because the filmmakers had won an Academy Award in 2001 for Murder on a Sunday Morning, about a 15-year-old boy wrongfully accused of murder. HBO Max's latest true crime series, The Staircase, chronicles the lengthy saga of Michael Peterson, an author who was convicted of killing his wife, Kathleen, who died on the stairs in their Durham, N.C. home in December 2001. It was a huge financial blow to Michael. He was convinced it was going to be payback time once he got charged., While some viewers saw Peterson in the film and thought he was a narcissist, Rudolf said he wanted the film to be made for simple self-preservation on his part., He was making it hard for anyone to cheat, or at least to cheat without being caught, Rudolf said. The docu-series follows Petersons trial for the murder of his wife Kathleen. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way. Currently, he resides in Durham, North Carolina but has since sold the house where Kathleen died. We want to hear from you! He Lives in a House Without a Staircase. Firth told Deadline that he didnt meet Michael before playing him in HBOs The Staircase. Still estranged from her step-siblings, she currently lives with her husband and twin children in Virginia. On December 1, 2009, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their North Carolina home. ), "Right now, I can live with this," Peterson said of the result of his hearing in February 2017. According to theNews and Observer, Peterson has not owned the home since he sold it to Jason Balius for $640,000 in 2004. They were companions, Clayton told News & Observer. He got back to writing and released two books telling his side of the story: 2019s Behind the Staircase and 2020s Beyond the Staircase. The couple also hosts a podcast together, Abuse of Power, which focuses on stories of people victimized by the justice system. He concluded her death to be a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. The miniseries will draw on the2018 Netflix documentarythat followed the same case. And that spawned other real-life programs it's just a tragedy that there's this great appetite that people have for sex, murder, and money. Speaking with Variety, he also complained about his characterization in the show, singling out the scene in which he and Michael chat over a pastrami sandwich: We could have put a little blimp over my head saying, Jewish lawyer from New York. Ahead of Michael Petersons' trial, Ratliff's body was exhumed for a second autopsy in April 2003, where a Durham medical examiner concluded the cause of death as "homicide." Sophie and Michael were together from 2004 to 2017. One of the prosecutors in Michael's case, Freda Black, will be played by Parker Posey. 'The Staircase': Where Are Michael Peterson and His Family Now? The couple discussed moving to France and settling in the capital once the trial was finally over. Now Judge Clifton Newman will hand down the sentencing in the double murder trial Friday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison in his conviction on the murder count . Originally built in 1940 by architect George Watts Carr, Sr. for wealthy Durham businessman John Adams Buchanan, the lavish five-bedroom, six-bathroom property had plenty of room for Kathleen and Michaels large blended family, which included Michaels two sons with his first wife and his two adopted daughters, as well as Kathleens daughter from a previous marriage. . In the final episode of the miniseries, we see Michael Peterson starting to get his life back on track as a free man. But she never let her own feelings affect the course of editing.". "They were companions," he told The News & Record. 2023 Dirt.com, LLC. And the fact that another woman very close to Peterson was also found dead at the bottom of a staircase 16 years before Kathleen. Defense Attorney David Rudolf says his famous former clientfeatured on Netflixs The Staircase is keeping it on one level now. Still married to journalist Sonya Pfeiffer (Teri Wyble), defense attorney David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) relocated to Toronto in 2021, where he works for litigation and corporate law firm Brauti Thorning LLP. Like Patty's father, Michael Peterson was a military man, having served in Vietnam as part of the U.S. Marine Corps from August 1968 until September 1969. After a years-long legal battle post-prison, which included almost three years under house arrest, Peterson finally attained freedom by entering an Alford plea for manslaughter and was officially given time served in exchange. They married in 1965 and moved to Durham, North Carolina. Throughout Michael Peterson's murder trial, his ex-wife was not only his emotional support but also his financial, and until her death, she believed him to be innocent. Despite her words and the fact that Peterson will be considered a convicted felon for the rest of his life, he apparently plans on trying to live out the rest of his years at home in North Carolina. I can't live in Paris. Returning to the Scene of the Crime. It soon came to light that not only had Deaver exaggerated the number of cases in which he had worked, he also had no proper forensics training and was guilty of lab misconduct. You Can Stream Every 'Rocky' Movie Right Now, 'WoF' Fans Say This Is the 'Biggest Choke' on Show, Daisy Jones & the Six Is a Rock Epic in 10 Parts, See Mariska Hargitays Emotional Tribute on IG, Poker Face Is Rian Johnson's Exciting New Show, A Timeline of Events in 'Murdaugh Murders', 'White Lotus' Star Reveals 'Iconic' Scene Was Cut, How Sam Claflin Built His '70s Rock Star Body. Were it not for SBI analyst Duane Deavers corruption, Michael Peterson would probably still be in jail. The Staircase. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Alongside Pfeiffer, Rudolf is the owner of the Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also opines that by agreeing to pay, he would be admitting to murdering Kathleen. Kathleen had daughter Caitlin from her first marriage as well. Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase were self-published in 2019. "We made plans to live in Paris. The filmmakers had explored the American justice system in a case with a public defender, and wanted to explore a case with a wealthy defendant. It explores the life of crime novelist Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette).

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